Broncos won't be on HBO's 'Hard Knocks' in 2017

The NFL is allowed to force a team to be featured on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” series, but teams and NFL Films have agreed on a few rules of eligibility. As Michael Colangelo of Touchdown Wire has pointed out, the NFL can’t force a team with a new head coach or a team that made the playoffs in either of the previous two years to be on the show.

After the Broncos went 9-7 in 2016 and missed the playoffs, coach Gary Kubiak stepped away from football and the team hired Vance Joseph to replace him. So Denver’s not eligible to be forced to be on “Hard Knocks” this year.

Even if the Broncos were eligible, they would not want to be on the show. NFL Films has approached the team in the past about being featured, and Denver has “politely declined.”

Technically, the NFL could force the Broncos to be on the show — when they’re eligible. That’s not the case this year, so it won’t happen.